1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

Match Day Thread Coventry City v Norwich City 12:30 kick off Saturday 21st January 2023

Discussion in 'Norwich City' started by DUNCAN DONUTS, Jan 20, 2023.

?

Who shall win ?

  1. CCFC

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Draw

    12.5%
  3. NCFC

    75.0%
  4. Reading

    12.5%
  1. Golden Eadie 2

    Golden Eadie 2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2018
    Messages:
    2,469
    Likes Received:
    1,321
    We signed Nunez last summer and for the first few games of the season he was arguably our best player, playing his natural style. 3 months later, trained by Smith, he was a shadow of his earlier self. Playing our new more attacking style will reinvigorate him and we will benefit from his contributions. It would appear that individuality was eradicated from the players.
     
    #81
  2. zogean_king

    zogean_king Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2012
    Messages:
    5,392
    Likes Received:
    1,817
    They looks like they were wearing clogs rather than football boots, they certainly have a spring in their step now. Is that to do with training and intent or confidence?
     
    #82
    Canary Rob and DUNCAN DONUTS like this.
  3. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,074
    Likes Received:
    8,232
    Interesting that Nunez has looked a different player in his sub appearances and Sara seems to be relishing his new role.
     
    #83
    GozoCanary likes this.
  4. Bure budgie

    Bure budgie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2015
    Messages:
    10,727
    Likes Received:
    2,958
    I think the whole squad look refreshed
     
    #84
  5. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2011
    Messages:
    17,327
    Likes Received:
    8,160
  6. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,074
    Likes Received:
    8,232
    I think we might conclude that Wagner has reinvigorated the fans as well. ;)

    Here's what Onel thinks of Wagner:

    “In the last couple of years, we’ve always been on the front foot and in the last half a year, it wasn’t the same. We feel that we are back. That is the game we want to play. We want to play forward. We want to attack. We want to keep the ball. That’s exactly what the players are doing for the moment."

    https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/23267650.norwich-city-onel-hernandez-praises-david-wagners-impact/
     
    #86
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2023
  7. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,074
    Likes Received:
    8,232
    #87
    Robbie BB likes this.
  8. GozoCanary

    GozoCanary Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2012
    Messages:
    4,181
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    #88
    Canary Spring likes this.
  9. DUNCAN DONUTS

    DUNCAN DONUTS SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Messages:
    61,570
    Likes Received:
    47,253
  10. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,074
    Likes Received:
    8,232
    It's a fairly steep learning curve which began for me with Farke's 'possession based tactics' to progress the ball through the thirds while the attacking players created movement up front to create space to attack the goal.

    Wagner's aims are similar, but the key is to keep the play in the opposition half with the gegen press when the ball is lost, but attacking quickly once it's regained. The quickness is the key based around Hernandez cutting in from the left, Dowell from the right and Sara supporting Sargent and Pukki up front, with the FBs providing the width. That's what has produced the 8 goals in two games, but more work is needed to defend against counterattacks when the ball is lost.

    Wagner seems to have a clear vision of what he wants and the players are responding on and off the pitch, so we'll just have to see where it goes from here.
     
    #90

  11. Robbie BB

    Robbie BB Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2021
    Messages:
    1,702
    Likes Received:
    878
    That has been a consistent problem over the last twelve or so years. Hughton and Smith both perished because they prioritised addressing it. Three successive failures to survive more than a single season in the EPL, under Neil, Farke and then Farke/Smith, points to their being right. All those fans saying "we've got our team back" see only the return of front foot football, not the defensive vulnerability which has always accompanied it. Now it's Wagner's turn to try and square the Norwich circle. His reaction to the first half at Coventry shows that he, like Hughton and Smith, is very conscious of the problem. Burnley will tell us, and Wagner, more.
     
    #91
  12. GozoCanary

    GozoCanary Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2012
    Messages:
    4,181
    Likes Received:
    2,239

    I have to admit that I basically go on instinct when it comes to football. Obviously, this is much more hit and miss than being analytical.

    But there are also problems with analysis, because human beings are much better at rationalising than we are at being rational. So we often make a decision on instinct or intuition and then look around for evidence which supports that instinct rather than working the other way around. And the smarter someone is, the better they are at rationalising and making use of that evidence. In football there are so many factors and so many statistics that almost any opinion can be justified by their selective use, so it's easy to hide our subjectivity behind a veneer of objectivity.

    I want to make clear that I'm making a general point and this is not intended to be a veiled criticism of anyone on this site. I hope it's obvious by now that if I want to criticise someone or their ideas, I'll do it directly and not by implication.
     
    #92
  13. DUNCAN DONUTS

    DUNCAN DONUTS SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Messages:
    61,570
    Likes Received:
    47,253
    Thus far Wagner has plus 8 minus 2 ag (actual goals)

    Compared to Smithball then so far "we've got our team back ".

    The coach the players the fans are all smiling with a spring in their step .

    With believe that they might get promoted again , that belief had been sucked out of them , especially as the turgid horrible football Smith endorsed failed miserably at keeping up up .

    For someone who seems to see the wood from the trees and clearly much more intelligent than the rest of us , Robbie hasn't msnaged to fathom that Norwich are always the poorest club in the Premier league and the richest teams are always more successful.
     
    #93
  14. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,074
    Likes Received:
    8,232
    The problem with both Hughton and Smith is that they concentrated on improving the defence at the expense of attacking capability so the play became turgid and stultified. Opposing teams simply waited for the mistake which would let them in, knowing that our ability to strike back was limited.

    Farke succeeded in the Championship by going on the front foot to out score the opponent and win. That failed in the PL because opponents were able to exploit our exposed defence. This is the problem Wagner will have to solve if we ever gain promotion, but now the priority is to succeed in the Championship and that is what he's doing so far, with the bonus being that we're playing exciting football and winning games - something both Smith and Hughton found difficult to do. For Wagner, it's about achieving energy and synergy:

    “It's not about the offensive players only doing the attacking stuff and vice versa. No, it's about the group, being together, feeling that responsibility and bringing the right energy on the grass. And I think in terms of the intensity and the energy we showed in the first half at Coventry it was very, very intense."

    https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/23270204.norwich-city-david-wagner-dream-championship-start-canaries/
     
    #94
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2023
    carrowcanario likes this.
  15. Robbie BB

    Robbie BB Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2021
    Messages:
    1,702
    Likes Received:
    878
    Not simply because they were "able to exploit our exposed defence", but also because they were defensively strong enough to stop us scoring.

    That doesn't just describe what happened to us in the EPL under Hughton and Smith; it applies equally to what happened under Neil and Farke. The only difference is where on the pitch they waited for the inevitable mistake.

    Successful teams are, and have always been, built first and foremost on sound defence.
     
    #95
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2023
  16. DUNCAN DONUTS

    DUNCAN DONUTS SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Messages:
    61,570
    Likes Received:
    47,253
    What a transformation

     
    #96

Share This Page